This is a recipe for really light and fluffy rolls, that look and taste a lot like store bought, only better. They’re like rolls you would want for your Thanksgiving dinner. Amazing how you can take the same basic ingredients, and with a slight tweaking, come up with so many breads that taste different. Out of the oven, they have very round and pretty tops. If you dust the tops with cornstarch they look like snowballs. But you get the idea, they’re your basic light dinner rolls.
3/4 c plus 2 Tablespoons milk (200 grams)
1 package yeast
3 Tablespoons sugar
Heat the milk to 100-110 degrees, stir in the yeast and sugar, and let sit for 10 minutes until it’s bubbly. (i.e. proof the yeast). Then stir in:
2-2/3 cup flour (350 grams)
2/3 teaspoon salt
Knead the dough for five minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. If the dough feels too stiff, you can cover with plastic wrap and let it set for 20 minutes to relax the gluten before you finish kneading it. If it’s still too tough you can add a little milk, a teaspoon at a time. Or it it’s too sticky, add a teaspoon of flour. Next add:
2 Tablespoons soft (not melted) butter, and knead it in for two more minutes. It will be greasy, but you need to get all the butter worked in.
That’s the old school, by hand method. Frankly, I just do my mixing in a food processor. I’ve done it both ways and they come out exactly the same.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for two hours.
After two hours, form the dough into twelve smooth balls, and place them in a 9 X 13 pan that’s been lined with parchment paper. Let the dough rise for another hour or until the dough has doubled in size and the rolls are touching each other.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.